sixwords

Radio Melodrama - by Kelly

Hello. Remember me? I am your radio. You used to listen to me when you were little, in the front room. The kiddie radio shows back then weren't any more sophisticated than the sock puppets you had in Sunday school, but you loved them both. And you loved me. You loved twisting the dial and hearing different voices come out, hearing about stock prices on one station, country music on another, old-time polkas on a third. I didn't mind the cake and frosting on my dial one day, chocolate cookies the next. It was nice to be near you. It was nice to have someone listen to me.

Later I moved up to your bedroom, next to the pillow. Every Saturday morning I'd play Casey Kasem's top 50 countdown. I'd wake you every morning, and sometimes I'd even get to inform you that your school was cancelled. You'd fall back asleep, safe and warm, listening to me play those 50 songs of the week over and over again, interrupted every ten minutes to run down the comforting list of cancellations.

You moved away to college. Then you got married. For a long time I was in an empty room.

Now here I am in your new house. Forgive me if I sound grouchy, but here I am in a paper bag with Strawberry Shortcake and some old Shaun Cassidy LPs. And you're running around the house unpacking, with some shiny new thing hanging on your neck and singing you songs.

Your songs - everything YOU want to hear. No polka, no stock prices, no school closings, no commercials... she sings exactly the songs you want to hear, all the time. No wonder you love her.

I wonder if you'd notice me, if I leaned just a little farther over out of the bag.

I wonder if you'd see me, if I could get my 9-volt battery to power up the blinking 12:00 a few more times.

Hey, I wonder what you wrote on this grocery bag you tossed me into...

...salvation ARMY?

*sob*

Posted by Kim at June 27, 2005 1:18 PM